The practice of touching a corpse for good luck, though seemingly morbid in modern times, stems from ancient beliefs about the supernatural power residing in the recently deceased.

Historically, the close proximity of the living to the dead facilitated this superstition. Before the advent of modern funeral homes and mortuaries, families kept the bodies of their deceased loved ones at home until burial. This practice allowed for viewing and, significantly, touching the corpse, a custom rooted in the belief that the body, as a vessel transitioning between life and death, possessed extraordinary powers.

The cultural context surrounding this superstition reveals a desire to harness the perceived supernatural essence of the dead. Touching specific body parts was believed to offer particular benefits. For instance, touching the forehead of a corpse was thought to alleviate the fear of death and prevent the deceased’s ghost from haunting the living. Similarly, touching the hand was believed to cure warts, transferring their essence to the decaying body, causing them to shrivel and disappear. Beyond these specific applications, perspiration from a fresh corpse was even used to treat ailments like goiters, tumors, and hemorrhoids, highlighting the extent to which the dead were perceived as possessing healing properties.

The evolution of this superstition also reveals darker beliefs. Seventeenth-century records indicate a macabre practice wherein a corpse’s nose bleeding in the presence of a suspected murderer was considered evidence of their guilt. If a suspected murderer was made to touch the corpse, a fresh flow of blood was believed to confirm their crime, highlighting the corpse’s supposed ability to reveal truth and enact justice from beyond the grave.

However, not all interactions with the dead were perceived as positive. Superstitions also warned of negative omens. A corpse that remained unusually warm or failed to develop rigor mortis was considered a harbinger of another imminent death, illustrating the ambiguous and potentially dangerous nature attributed to the deceased. While the modern world has largely distanced itself from such practices, the superstition of touching a corpse for good luck serves as a stark reminder of humanity’s enduring fascination with death and the supernatural, and how it shaped beliefs and practices in past eras.